Illinois State freshman Trey Krause completed a 25-month return from Ewing's Sarcoma in the Redbirds' 6-1 victory at UT-Martin (4-7) on Tuesday at Skyhawk Baseball Field.
After being diagnosed in February 2020, Krause was deemed cancer-free in December 2020 before throwing his first bullpen back in September 2021. Krause struck out the first batter he faced in his one-inning start.
Illinois State (6-4) got eight innings of scoreless relief, headlined by five innings from sophomore Cameron Mabee. Junior Kolton Scherbenske and sophomores Keegan Gagliardo and Erik Kubiatowicz each posted a scoreless inning in relief.
The 'Birds were led by junior Jake McCaw, who recorded a trio of hits and two RBIs.
An RBI from sixth-year senior Aidan Huggins tied the game at 1-1 after three innings.
In the 5th inning, third-year sophomore Ryan Cermak recorded an RBI before a two-out, two-RBI double from McCaw.
The 'Birds tacked on two more in the top of the 9th as third-year sophomore Adrian Flores laced a ball to third base, resulting in two runs coming home.
Illinois State is scheduled to play this weekend at Murray State.